I was watching a program on National Geographic last night about the Iraq war. There was a part about how Al Jazeera was using pictures of dead civilians as propaganda, and in turn Al Queda was using this as recruitment tools. It got me thinking, and maybe not in the right way, but here it is anyway.
When we go to war the U.S. takes more care than any other nation to avoid civilian casualties. This is commendable, but we are not fighting a foreign army, rather a culture. I think that maybe a new tactic may prove to be more effective. That is the scorched earth mentality. For every act against us, we deliver such devastating retribution, that even the civilian population refuses to support the terrorists for fear of our retaliation. They would know that the consequences of attacking the U.S. are so devastating that it becomes unthinkable to attempt it.
Now I know that the current regime is too spineless to use this type of tactic on anyone but their own people. But there you have it. Like I said, I don't like the thought of intentionally harming civilians. I am not advocating these tactics, just looking at them from a standpoint of "what would this do for enemy morale"?